The Famous Teddy Z
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The Famous Teddy Z is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS during the fall of 1989. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and inspired by the true story of Jay Kantor, who was a mailroom clerk at MCA and later became Marlon Brando's agent.[1]
| The Famous Teddy Z | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Hugh Wilson |
| Written by | Richard Dubin Wayne Lemon Sid O. Smith Robert Wilcox Hugh Wilson |
| Directed by | Frank Bonner Richard Dubin Max Tash Hugh Wilson |
| Starring | Jon Cryer Alex Rocco Jane Sibbett Milton Selzer Josh Blake Erica Yohn |
| Theme music composer | Guy Moon Stephanie Tyrell Steve Tyrell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (5 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Hugh Wilson |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | ELP Communications Hugh Wilson Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 18, 1989 – May 12, 1990 |
The series starred Jon Cryer as Theodore "Teddy" Zakalokis, a young man working in a Hollywood talent agency in order to avoid being stuck in his Greek-American family's bakery. When Hollywood star Harland Keyvo (a caricature of Marlon Brando) meets Teddy Z, he is so impressed by his honesty that he makes him his new agent. The humor is derived from Teddy's innocent approach to the business, contrasted with the snake-like behavior of his fellow agents. The cast also included Jane Sibbett, Alex Rocco, Milton Selzer, Josh Blake, and Erica Yohn.
- Jon Cryer as Theodore "Teddy" Zakalokis
- Alex Rocco as Albert "Al" T. Floss
- Josh Blake as Aristotle "Ari" Zakalokis
- Tom LaGrua as Richard "Richie" Herby
- Milton Selzer as Abe Werkfinder
- Jane Sibbett as Laurie Parr
- Erica Yohn as Deena Zakalokis
- Dennis Lipscomb as Harland Keyvo
- Jack Armstrong as Marty Horn
- Barry Corbin as Zed Westhymer
- Tony Di Benedetto as Uncle Nikos
- Liz Torres as Aunt Angie
The theme song was written by Guy Moon and Stephanie and Steve Tyrell. Steve Tyrell is also the singer.
When the series first went into production, Lainie Kazan was cast as Teddy's pushy mother, Deena Zakalokis. Kazan had appeared in the first six episodes and shot part of the seventh episode but was released from the series due to creative issues. Kazan reportedly sued the producers for $2 million over her dismissal. The role of Deena was promptly recast as Teddy's grandmother, with Erica Yohn being hired. Most of Kazan's scenes were reshot with Yohn before the show made its debut.[2]
Murphy Brown crossover
Rocco's character, Al Floss, made a crossover appearance in the Murphy Brown season two episode "And the Whiner Is...", which originally aired on November 13, 1989. In the appearance Floss serves as an agent for several Murphy Brown characters.[citation needed]
The series pilot was seen to be far stronger than subsequent episodes, but the series received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including one for the pilot, and for Alex Rocco, who won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series,[19] but low ratings led CBS to drop it with five episodes unaired. It was later run in its entirety on Comedy Central in 1993 with episodes introduced by Rocco, and by Trio as part of its Brilliant But Cancelled series.[20]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Emmy Awards | Nominated | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Hugh Wilson |
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Liz Torres | |||
| Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series | Hugh Wilson (For pilot episode) | |||
| Won | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Alex Rocco |
- ^ "Trio Launches "Brilliant But Canceled" Television Month in December". test.triotv.com. 2002-10-22. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ Shales, Tom (1989-10-23). "JON CRYER, THE ZING IN 'TEDDY Z'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27.
- ^ "'Cosby' reclaims the top spot". Life. USA Today. September 27, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "NBC wins but loses viewers". Life. USA Today. October 4, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "Baseball a base hit for NBC". Life. USA Today. October 11, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "Earthquake shifts the ratings". Life. USA Today. October 25, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "NBC's hits beat ABC baseball". Life. USA Today. November 1, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ A Rose, um, a Script by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet by Paul D. Marks
- ^ "NBC sweeps the week, 1-2-3". Life. USA Today. November 8, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "'Small Sacrifices' wins big". Life. USA Today. November 22, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "NBC sweeps up another win". Life. USA Today. November 29, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "'Cosby' rebounds to lead NBC". Life. USA Today. December 6, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "'Cosby' leads NBC charge". Life. USA Today. December 13, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "'Rudolph' shines for CBS". Life. USA Today. December 20, 1989. p. 3D.
- ^ "NBC wraps up '89 with a win". Life. USA Today. January 3, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ "49ers are ratings winners, too". Life. USA Today. January 17, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ "A 'Grand' entrance for NBC". Life. USA Today. January 24, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ "Sunday night sinks NBC". Life. USA Today. May 16, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ "Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series Nominees / Winners 1990". Television Academy.
- ^ "Tuning In Shows The Networks Tuned Out". Cable World. 2002-10-28. Retrieved 2008-11-09.